The Montana Western women’s basketball team defeated the University of Providence Argos this evening by a score of 79-49. The Bulldogs are now 2-1 in conference play and have stretched their win streak to nine straight games.
“Great job by our kids tonight executing on both ends. It is not often we shoot 57 percent against a Providence team. I am hopeful we made some strides tonight on the defensive end. After they jumped us the first three minutes, I thought we were really connected defensively.” Head coach Lindsay Woolley said.
How It Happened
Despite allowing the Argos to take a quick 9-2 lead, the Bulldogs got their offense in motion behind a 13-0 scoring run to take them into the second quarter up 17-14. Shainy Mack nailed a three-point shot just five seconds into the start of the second quarter and followed up with a layup to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game thus far at 22-14. The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 12 after Brynley Fitzgerald drained a three-pointer with just over four minutes left in the half. After adding another four points, UMW held a 37-26 lead heading into the break. UMW outshot the Argos in the first half 57.1 to 32.2 percent and were led by senior Fitzgerald led with nine points.
The Bulldogs continued to push their lead at the start of the second half as they went on an 11-2 scoring run to give the Bulldogs a 48-29 lead. With 1:40 left in the third quarter, Emily Cooley was able to get a huge block on the Argos and immediately made a layup for a 19-point Bulldog lead. Kyla Momberg nailed a pair of free throws to send the Bulldogs into the fourth quarter up 57-38. The Bulldogs would continue to outscore the Argos 22-11 down the stretch to finish out the game on top 79-49.
“We were obviously really happy with that game. We wanted to play a full game of defense and that was something that we had been working on all week. It was nice to see that happen. Coach always says that you never know when you are going to get a win again, so it was just nice to get a win today and to get a win by a lot.” junior guard Jordan Sweeney stated after the win.
notables
Today’s win is the Bulldog’s first win over the Argos since Feb. 27, 2021, and their ninth straight win.
The Bulldogs outshot the Argos 57.1 to 30.4 percent from the field. They also were able to pick up 50 points in the paint and 24 points off of Argo turnovers.
Four Bulldogs were in double digit points: Brynley Fitzgerald, Jordan Sweeney, Mesa King, and Shainy Mack.
Brynley Fitzgerald inked a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. She also added six steals, four assists, and two blocks.
Jordan Sweeney tallied 14 points, two steals, two rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Mesa King was a perfect five for five from the field tonight and currently leads the NAIA with a 69.3 shooting percentage.
up next
The Bulldogs are now 14-2 overall and will be traveling to Havre for a Frontier Conference matchup with the MSU-Northern Skylights on Saturday Jan. 7 at 5 pm The Skylights are currently 7-9 and 0-3 in conference play following their 16 -point loss to Rocky Mountain College this evening.
